The Thrill of the Hunt: The Darth Somina Chronicles, Part III
by KyleeJainRidley
Summary: Darth Somina is back, with a vengeance, and she has been sent by the Emperor to find and destroy a strange new presence in the Force, a presence that threatens Palpatine's absolute rule. Meanwhile, Zathara Baris, once Barriss Offee, seeks out help from an old foe in hunting down the renegade Sith.


It was like a completely new galaxy that Darth Somina, apprentice and servant to the Emperor, witnessed from the bridge of the Star Destroyer on which she'd been assigned. To Somina's delight, it had been the _Indestructible_ she was stationed on, by command of the Emperor himself, and she was now Captain Tyler's commanding officer. She had been fair, if strict, on the young captain, and had succeeded in motivating him enough to redeem himself, and his crew, in her eyes. Now, after a month of working together, Somina and the crew of the _Indestructible_ had meshed like a well-maintained machine, efficient and ruthless. They'd terrorized the enemies of the Empire, and defended those who were loyal from the dangers lurking in the vast galaxy. In the eyes of those who actually knew about her, Darth Somina was seen as a hero of the Empire.

However, very few actually knew about her. On orders from the Emperor himself, she was to stay well out of the spotlight. Though she didn't understand why, she didn't feel it her place to question her master's will. She had done well, and Palpatine was well pleased with his new apprentice.

Everything was going her way now; she was no longer on the run, she was working hard at building, and maintaining, a peaceful and orderly society, and she was loved by her men. Everything Somina could have ever asked for was at her disposal.

It was, of course, incomprehensible to her that she still felt empty, and incomplete,

All this time, there hadn't been a single shred of information on Enuma's whereabouts, and Somina was worried sick about her. She'd had every intelligence operative she knew look into the matter, but none had come up with answers. Somina had only lashed out at a couple of them, slicing them into ribbons, but her anxiety regarding her lost love was building more critical, and more dangerous, with every day that passed.

One story she'd been told was that her ship had gone down over Mon Cala, and she was lost with all hands, but Somina could not accept that. Another story suggested that Enuma had fallen back into the clutches of the Hutts, but Somina liked that answer even less. She'd contacted her man inside Jabba's operation, who informed her there was absolutely no truth to that, and that Jabba would not offend her so by capturing Enuma. Somina sent her regards along to Bib Fortuna, and continued her search elsewhere. Ord Mantell, Coruscant, Sullust, Corellia; on none of these worlds was Enuma to be found.

Somina longed for Enuma more than she could admit to, but she could say nothing; she was certain the Emperor would see that as weakness, and so she kept those painful emotions to herself, bottled up and stored away for another time. She could not afford to appear weak, for the Emperor was a harsh and demanding master, and she had seen what Palpatine did to those who displeased him; lately, he'd sent _her_ to deal with them. She rarely had to pass along the Emperor's message a second time.

For Darth Somina, the cycle continued indefinitely. She had become unassailable, but at the same time, there was no joy in her safety and power, for she was alone. A solitude she'd imposed upon herself, after betraying Enuma's trust, and then falling into a trap set for her by Barriss Offee, it seemed like there was neither escape nor relief for her, even here, at the pinnacle of the Empire, at the right hand of the Emperor himself.

Somina could not help but wonder if this sort of loneliness and emptiness was how Vader had felt, when in her position. If that was so, she could understand all too well why he'd become such a monster. She could feel very little these days when not in the throes of battle. The aching in her heart for Enuma's touch was the only emotion she ever felt besides blood-lust and battle-rush. She'd chosen this path to be able to set her emotions free.

Instead, she'd ended up a thug, and the personal assassin for the Emperor. Indeed, he'd shown her power beyond her imagining, but the cost had been high. What good is the ability to best your enemies when your own soul is forfeit? In setting herself free, she'd shackled herself to another master, one far less forgiving than Anakin Skywalker, or even Darth Vader, had been.

Still, she at least had the time and wherewithal to contemplate her next move. Even as she labored under Palpatine's cruel gaze, other things entered her mind, darkening her soul even further than it had been before. Though she knew the Emperor to be powerful beyond her imagining, certainly more powerful than herself, she found herself wanting to see him fall. She found herself craving power, in any form and guise she could acquire it, and it was a new feeling for her. She'd never been so devoted to increasing her mastery of the Force itself, much less the Dark Side, and it drove her to ever more risky adventures, when her master gave her leave to do so.

Somina rarely meditated these days, as her constant laboring under the command of Palpatine combined with the consternation within her mind offered few opportunities for it. Still, once in a great while she'd make the attempt, as she tended to understand her greater understanding of the Force as a whole better when her mind wasn't occupied with blood-thirst and desire. Wrapped loosely in a robe of smooth, black fabric, Somina sat cross-legged in the middle of her inner sanctum, a place devoid of any stimuli, the only place where she could abandon conscious thought, and commune with the Force. Heavy eyelids slid over orange irises, and Somina reached out into the Force itself.

The hot wind blew around the blasted rocks, blowing the stinging sand in all directions. The lone figure, struggling to reach the closest vaporator, clutched tightly at the knot that kept the cloth tight over their mouth, keeping the majority of the toxic sand out of their lungs. Normally, they would send a droid to perform any sort of maintenance, as the sandstorm season on Verek V endangered the life of anyone who found themselves exposed. The sand wasn't merely silicate, but also with tiny crystals of potassium cyanide in the mix, and it was lethal even in small amounts. The lone figure was tough, but even they couldn't last long.

The figure struggled to the vaporator, and found a devastated mess of shredded metal, ruptured plastic and exposed cable. Meteors weren't uncommon on Verek V, as the ring system around the planet had long been unstable, and the lone figure had had the bad luck to have one of those meteors impact one of the moisture vaporators. The figure sighed sadly, and turned back to return to the safety of their underground home. There was no way to fix the vaporator now before the sands overcame them; they would have to send a droid in the morning to replace it.

As the figure turned to trudge wearily back into the airlock that led home, something caught their eye. A quick burst of movement in their peripheral vision made them whirl around. As they turned, something massive and strong smashed into their skull, knocking them to the ground and disorienting them momentarily. The figure tried to shake off the dizziness, and looked directly above them to see a huge, monstrous silhouette looming over them. They tried desperately to grab the small blaster they had tucked inside their environment suit, but it was in vain, as the monstrous figure reached towards them, a massive hand engulfing their head, and they knew no more.

"NO!"

Darth Somina's eyes shot open as she was shaken out of the meditative trance. She looked around quickly, an instinctive act, but there was nothing but the darkness of her chamber. She was alone with the familiar hum of the Star Destroyer's engines. She slid out of her bed, which seemed far too big with no Enuma sharing it, and she felt the icy cold of the metal floor. She trembled briefly, though it wasn't from cold; something profoundly _terrifying_ haunted her.

"Lady Somina." The voice of Commander Tyler, the _Indestructible's_ commanding officer, crackled over the intercom near the door leading into the ship's corridors. Somina walked quietly to the intercom and activated it.

"What is it, Commander?" Somina had come to appreciate Tyler's skills, though she still didn't care much for the officer that she found a little too ambitious. She could control him with fear, though, and that was enough.

"The Emperor commands you to contact him immediately." His voice was already filled with dread, and nothing she could say or do could make it worse. The only thing Commander Tyler feared more than her was Palpatine himself.

"All stop on the ship, Commander, and await further instructions," Somina replied, dread beginning to well up inside of her own gut.

"Yes, Lady Somina." Tyler cut off the communication, leaving Somina in the relative silence of her solitude once again. Somina didn't leave her quarters much, except when sent on a task for the Emperor. She was almost mythic among the crew of the _Indestructible_, so infrequently was she seen outside of her quarters. She told herself it was adherence to Palpatine's commands, but in truth, Somina suffered from a depression so profound that she just didn't want to deal with anyone. Ever since Enuma left her, the gaping hole in her heart yawned, aching and lamenting. The pain served her well when she was in the field, but it did little more than torment her when she was alone.

She'd come far as a Sith apprentice because of that pain, and Palpatine was pleased with her efforts. She fought to remain as stone-faced as she could when in the presence of the Emperor, though she knew he could feel the torment within her, and he praised her on her discipline. Everything was better than Vader, according to Palpatine. _She_ was better than Vader, he'd said more than once, and the results did, in fact, speak for themselves. She felt no pride in this, though, as inevitably the pain would seep back in to her realization, and she'd retreat into herself again, castigating herself for her mistakes with Enuma.

The cool air prickled her skin, now with more battle scars than she cared to think about, and the thought of such an urgent command from the Emperor chilled her further. She pulled a loose robe over herself, and tied it closed around her waist with a sash. She walked to the nearby holocomm device, one that connected directly to the inner sanctum of Emperor Palpatine himself, and knelt before the machine. A cold, blue glow emanated from the floor beneath her, and suddenly, the ghost-white image of the Emperor's face loomed over her, his cold eyes glaring at her. "What is your wish, my master?"

"I have sensed...something. Something unfamiliar to me, but powerful." His voice betrayed no fear; the only emotion Somina could pick up on was annoyance.

"I have sensed it as well, my master," Somina responded.

"Good. Hunt this unwelcome presence down, and put an end to it." His voice grew colder still, as if something boiled underneath his icy exterior.

Somina didn't move, didn't breathe, except to respond to her master's command. "It will be done as you command, my master."

"A word of warning, my apprentice. Whatever this...intruder is...it is powerful; strong with the Dark Side of the Force. Do not underestimate your enemy, as your...predecessor did." His face curled into a cruel smile at the mention of the late Darth Vader, the failed Sith apprentice that Somina conquered to earn her place at the master's side.

"There are none stronger than the Sith, and there is no Sith stronger than you, my master." She meant every word of it, and yet, somehow it sounded so hollow.

"And we shall endeavor to keep that advantage, won't we, my apprentice?"

"Yes, my master." Somina's eyes never once met the cold stare of her master, but even so, she knew he was smirking cruelly, enjoying the torment that he knew she was enduring.

A different torment was driving Enuma Syndulla insane, with the foul rot of Dagobah seeping into every pore, every fold of her skin. She was worried that somehow, her normal sapphire hue was taking on a shade of sickly green. There was something about this place, something horrible, something that Yoda would not reveal to her, but it was there, just outside the realms of her perception, and its terrible hunger gnawed away at her resolve.

Enuma did not know why she had chosen to stay on Dagobah. Yoda _was_ a Jedi, after all, and Somina had told her under no uncertain terms that Jedi couldn't be trusted, though she'd never told Enuma exactly _why_. Enuma knew that Yoda knew things; he'd known her family's name after only barely meeting her. It was a name that she'd repressed years ago, after the Hutts had taken her into slavery. It really didn't mean anything to her anymore, as she'd lived for so long being only known as 'you', or 'wench', or a dozen other, less flattering epithets. She was Enuma. _Only_ Enuma. It was enough. _She_ was enough.

Enuma sat, her legs folded, and her eyes closed, as the humid morning air started to churn with the activity of the diurnal swamp creatures, picking off the last of the nocturnal beasts for their breakfast. Enuma's stomach churned hungrily, but she had no desire to eat. Heartbreak and loneliness ate away at her soul, even as Yoda admonished her for giving release to her turbulent emotions. Control, he'd say; she must learn control, but she didn't want control. She wanted peace, silence inside her mind. There wasn't a moment that passed that she did not see Somina's eyes sparkling in the dim light, feel Somina's breath on the back of her neck, or smell Somina's scent on the breeze. Enuma didn't want to love Somina so strongly, but she had no means of making that deep, passionate love go away.

"Now," Yoda spoke, nearly a whisper. "Feel the Force around you." Yoda's eyes were closed as well, a calm expression across his wrinkled face. His right hand was raised slightly, while his left rested upon the top of his walking stick. "Feel the connection you must. Through the Force, one we are. You...me...the Wookiee, the creatures of the swamp...all are part of the Force."

Enuma could feel it, and had been able to feel it since Somina had taught her those first rudimentary lessons. She resented the tone of overt superiority that Yoda had in his dealings with her, and her tolerance for his arrogance was quite nearly depleted. Still, she knew Yoda was ancient, and knowledgeable in the ways of the Force, and she endeavored to know what he knew. He'd been a Jedi since before her oldest ancestors walked the surface of Ryloth, and had seen things that haven't been seen in centuries. Alas, he was unwilling to tell her anything beyond what he wanted to teach, and rarely answered her questions with anything beyond cryptic nonsense.

"Flows it does through all living things. The flow of primordial energy between all life it is, and teach you many things it can." Yoda coughed slightly, but continued. "Calm your mind, and listen to its words you can."

All Enuma saw was Somina. The only words she heard were Somina's, as Enuma had turned and walked away from the one she loved more than her own life. Her concentration was shattered with an almost palpable shock wave, and she stood up and spat. "This is nonsense! I do not need to know that swamp serpents are permeated with the Force! I need to know how to _FIGHT_!"

Yoda stood, silently, his eyes opening slowly, a cold glare of disappointment in those deep, inscrutable eyes. "Teach you I cannot. Too much like your friend you are. Impulsive, impatient, too quick to anger. Much like Ahsoka you are. Teach her I could not, just like you."

Hatred gleamed in Enuma's dark eyes, hatred aimed directly at the queer little green man. "And why could you not teach Som...Ahsoka? What was it you did to her to make her leave?"

Yoda's eyes closed once again. "Discuss it, I do not care to."

Enuma leaned down, her lekku dangling in Yoda's face. "Give a _shit,_ I do not. Tell me."

Yoda, coldly returning Enuma's glare, closed his eyes after a few moments. He sadly lowered his head and hobbled to a nearby log, and climbed up upon it, his short legs dangling. "A long time ago, it was. Terrorists bombed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and framed Ahsoka they did. Evidence, they manufactured." Yoda sighed after another awkward moment of silence. "Believed them, we did. Expel her from the Jedi Order, we did, and arrest her the Republic forces did. Trust her, listen to her, _believe_ her...we did not."

The revelation hit Enuma like a slap across the face. Suddenly, everything made sense to her, and the reasoning for Somina's departure from the Jedi was clear as a cold, starry night.

"_YOU BETRAYED HER!_" Enuma raged, her anger erupting in a shock wave of nearly-palpable force. Yoda seemed to be hit by the powerful surge of Dark Side force, and it seemed to take his breath away. "She was set up, and you played along, instead of trusting your own! You chose to be a politician, instead of a teacher, and then you _BETRAYED_ her!"

Yoda remained silent for several long seconds, and then muttered meekly, "Failed Ahsoka Tano we did. But betray her, we did not!" Yoda clambered down from the log, his gaze still avoiding Enuma. "Deceived we were...deceived by the Sith, by Palpatine. Known the truth, we could not have...and because of this, fail her we did."

Within a second, Enuma's hand lashed out in Yoda's direction, causing the tiny Jedi to fly backwards into a large tree. Enuma's eyes, teary with rage and pain, almost seemed to blaze with an odd orange hue. "LIAR!" Her hand instinctively reached for her lightsaber, but she didn't draw it. She wasn't even certain she _could_ kill Yoda, never mind whether she should. She relaxed her body into a less-combative posture, her hands dropping to her sides. "I can see there is nothing for me to learn here."

"Go if you must, but be wary of the seduction of the Dark Side!" Yoda sputtered, Enuma's rage having taken him by surprise. He'd not expected her to be so powerful. "Still hope for you there is!"

"_Wary_?" Enuma's anger turned to spite. "I _EMBRACE_ it, just as Ahs..._SOMINA_ taught me to." She knelt down to pick up what gear she had with her, and then turned away from the Jedi Master, though the rage was still easily felt, even at such a great distance. "Enjoy rotting in your swamp." She walked off into the swamp towards where the _Two-Hearts_ sat, never once looking back.

Yoda watched her walk away, a sinking feeling of despair welling up within him. The girl, one that he had foreseen through the Force, was every bit as powerful as he'd seen, and every bit as corrupted by the Dark Side as he'd feared. He'd held up hope that she could be turned, even as Jedi dogma told him it wasn't possible, but as she walked away from him, from the Light, he lost all hope that the Jedi could one day rise again. No, Enuma Syndulla wasn't the salvation he'd so fervently hoped for. He would have to wait, wait for the next heir of Skywalker to come to the fore, but that was as uncertain as the future could ever be. He would have to be patient; as patient as Palpatine had been during his rise, and as invisible as Darth Sidious had been as he laid the groundwork for the return of the Sith to power. Patience was simple enough, after all. He'd lived nine hundred years, the majority of that time as a Jedi, and only once had his conviction wavered. Once...but once too many.

It was dark, the kind of darkness you can only find on a planet where the atmosphere is opaque. Long ago, the smog generated by the various industries of the Hutts had choked the moon Nar Shaddaa into submission. The heat never abated, and the difference between day and night was negligible. It was cloaked in eternal dark and heat, and that suited Zathara Baris just fine. It was the perfect environment to do business while keeping a low profile. Here, she blended into the crowd easily, and it was one of the few places she could relax.

She stirred in the large, comfortable bed she had slept in. The sheets were of the finest silks available, and she luxuriated in them. Since her departure from the Jedi order, she'd learned to appreciate the pleasures of the flesh, though taking care not to lose herself in those pleasures. The mission always came first; nothing mattered to her more than utterly destroying Ahsoka Tano. Still, when the situation afforded it, she loved to take a night or two of downtime. The smoothness of the silks against her smooth, yellow skin felt divine. It was only during these times that she was capable of just being Zathara the woman, rather than Zathara the monster.

A nearby screen flashed a message on the screen. A transmission had come in for her overnight, and Zathara felt her breathing stop momentarily. She had been waiting for a transmission from Maga, one that upon which so many of her plans hinged. She didn't bother dressing; it wouldn't be a live transmission and besides, she'd slept with Maga enough that she felt no embarrassment about her exposed body. She touched the screen gently, and an image of a world-weary Devaronian appeared, a wicked smile on his face.

"My dearest," Maga spoke in his impossibly deep voice, "you'll be glad to hear that I've managed to locate my...comrade...and they are willing to meet with you. I'll send the coordinates with this transmission. Be there in three days, and be nice. This individual doesn't respond well to threats."

For the first time in a long time, Zathara Baris smiled, a smile of unrepentant malice.


End file.
